Apple Spice Cake

Recently I ate at one of those small neighborhood restaurants whose fame spreads beyond the quartier and people come from other neighborhoods, as well as from other countries, to eat at because it is très reputé.

Le Repaire de Cartouche (99 rue Amelot) is one of those restaurants in Paris. It’s known for very good food and an especially compelling wine list. The prices aren’t too high (although not too low, either) and you can eat very well without spending the equivalent of a three-star restaurant.

Almost immediately after we sat done, something seemed up. Within moments of handing us our menus, the waiter asked if we were ready to order. I was with Maria Helm Sinskey, a well-regarded chef from the Bay Area and co-owner of a vineyard, with her husband. I’d chosen the restaurant because they’re known for excellent game dishes and I figured it was something she couldn’t easily get back in the states.

As she pondered the wine list, the waiter told us we had to order our meal before we could order wine. When we said we needed a moment to scan the interesting wine list, he quickly turned and scampered away in a huff.

After we ordered our meal and the wine, he came back later with the bottle of Anjou we ordered, a bit tepid, which we drank with our excellent persillade of grouse and lentils with a lively herb salad.

(On the plus side, when they brought us the wine, they poured it for her to taste, since she was the one who ordered it…so at least they’re not sexiste.)

My main course was a line-up of four quick-seared scallops teetering on a thin rectangle of chewy polenta with sautéed trompettes de la mort (black trumpets of death mushrooms) strewn all over the plate. It was outstanding, and each mouthful was pretty much as close to perfect as good food can get.

When our waiter came to take our dessert order, he told us the prune clafoutis would take 25 minutes to prepare. The idea of a hot-from-the oven custard coming forth was just too irresistible not to order one, so we told them we’d be fine waiting.

One-and-a-half minutes later, they brought out the dessert, which was, not surprisingly, at room temperature. At this point, I was dying of thirst because the three requests I put in for a sip of water went unheeded and we finally left so I could straggle home and get re-hydrated.

Having worked in restaurants most of my life, it’s sad to see the dining room staff not take pride in the food they were offering, and not do even a halfway-decent job serving it*. It’s especially unfortunate when the kitchen is working so hard to make such great food. And for all the flak the French get about customer service, even in simple cafés, the waiters are invariably quite professional and mindful of the customers. I can forgive incompetent service or waiters who get busy or forget something, but can’t forgive them if they’re purposefully disagreeable and act like children.

The next day I felt a bit discombobulated and was recounting to Romain what happened, including the part about a Frenchman walking out, yelling at the waiters that he was going to write to the guide Michelin about his experience, showing him Maria’s excellent book, The Vineyard Kitchen, and landed on Apple Spice Cake.

I had some wonderful apples I picked up at the market and thought the gentle blend of apple cubes and spices in a buttery batter might be just the ticket to shake that feeling left from the previous evening.

I added a few dates to her recipe because I couldn’t resist them when I was at the market and the Algerian vendor offered me a huge bag at a price that such a bargain, that this sweet windfall was too good to pass up. Thankfully, I took advantage of his offer and the dates were delicious. You can omit them or swap out another diced dried fruit, such as prunes or apricots, or whole raisins. Or leave them out if you want. And try to use tart, firm apples; once baked it the cake, you’ll appreciate their bold flavor.

This generous, but delicately-spiced cake is extremely moist and Maria says it improves after it sits a few days. It was pretty great fresh, and I can’t imagine it getting any better.

Maria’s instructions call for a 12-cup (3l) bundt pan. Mine is only a 10-cup and when I saw the batter rise to the top as it baked, I panicked a bit, but it didn’t overflow. Still, I do recommend following her advice. If you only have a 10-cup (2.5l) bundt pan, you could also scoop some of the batter into a smaller cake pan and have a little mini cake (which will cook for a shorter amount of time) as a snack or to gift someone.

You could also spread the batter in an rectangular cake pan with a 12-cup (3l) capacity, baking it until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

This cake is not very sweet so I dusted the it with powdered sugar. But it would be equally good with a glaze or rich cream cheese frosting, especially for those with a sweet tooth.

1. Melt the 2 tablespoons (30 g) of butter in a large skillet and sauté the apples over medium-high heat until the turn golden brown, stirring them as little as possible as they cook.

2. Once cooked through, add the 2 tablespoons (30 g) of sugar and cook until the apples cubes are nicely glazed. (Maria mentioned to cook them until all the liquid had evaporated, but mine had no liquid. So it depends on your apples.) Transfer apples to a plate and cool to room temperature.

3. Preheat the oven to 350F (180C) and butter and flour a 12-cup (3l) bundt pan, tapping out any excess flour.

4. In a stand mixer, or by hand, beat the 12 tablespoons (170 g) of butter with the sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, then the vanilla, stopping the mixer between additions to scrape the batter down on the sides, as necessary.

5. In a small bowl, toss the dates, if using, with about a tablespoon of the flour to separate them.

7. Stir half of the dry ingredients into the creamed butter mixture, then mix in the buttermilk or yogurt. Then stir in the remaining dry ingredients until just almost mixed in completely, but do not overmix. Visible wisps of flour are normal.

8. Fold in the cooked apples, and dates (if using). Scrape the batter into the prepare bundt pan and bake for 45 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.

9. Let the cake cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then turn the cake out onto a cooling rack. Once cool, dust with powdered sugar, or glaze, if you wish.

*Also, as of July 2009, the French government lowered the TVA tax that restaurants charge for food, down from 19.6% to 5.5%, to make restaurants more affordable and keep them running. So for example, when the main course runs €30 ($45), if the TVA doesn’t get reduced, the restaurant is making €4.5 ($7) more per main course.

59 comments

So weird, I am begining to feel like I am a stalker … every time I come to your blog to check up on something I have read & forgotten (this time about a camera lens) you have just posted a new recipe or interesting tale. And you must have known that I have 3 bags of apples to use up so I will convert this recipe to gluten free and bake it this week. Thank you!
By the way (as this report suggests) have you noticed a marked increase in low sugar products in France? I imagined that French consumers were too sensible to fall for the hype – http://bit.ly/7SbONL

David, you are psychic! I was just looking for something different to make for the boys’ lunches this week and this is perfect: not only do have a surplus of apples, but it keeps well so they can have it all week. I tried using up apples in a cookie recipe last week, but it was a disaster. Not even the kids would eat them! Mmmm…apple cake…

Shelley: Flour is listed in the ingredients after the dates. (3 cups) I don’t usually write up negative reviews of restaurants since I like to believe that everyone who works in one is doing the best job that they can. But since this is a well-established place and the waiters were obviously going out of their way to make customers feel unappreciated, I thought it worth a mention.

I’d eaten there once before and the service was fine. But after reading about multiple similar experiences, I didn’t think this was a one-off night. Too bad, because the food was great.

meg & aimee: This is a lovely cake and as Maria noted in the recipe, it gets better after a few days. It is lightly-spiced, so for those expecting a full-on all-American spice blitz, you can dial up the spices. Folks that tasted it around here loved it just as it is.

It really is sad when you like the food but you don’t like the service. In such cases, I wish we could have the option to pack the food and enjoy them at home (you don’t need to tip for the unsatisfactory service as well…)

By the way, these days I like my apples caramelized. No flour, no butter, just the sugar and some balsamic glaze with a little bit of cinnamon sprinkled on top… It goes well with your vanilla ice-cream!

Just when I thought I’d have to do hours of time-wasting research to find a simple/portable dessert to bring to friends for dinner, you’ve posted the perfect late autumn solution! Thanks for this, David!

Lovely. This cake looks absolutely gorgeous, as do your photographs. It looks like you have some beautiful heirloom apples to choose from at your market. I am all about the apple right now – a couple of weeks back I wrote a series of posts on heirloom apple varieties and orchard keeping on my gardening site. I look forward to trying this recipe, (I certainly have plenty of apples to use up)!
All the best, Michaela

Chiara: Those apples are Canada gris (the squat, darker ones) and Elstar (the red ones). Canada gris apples have good flavor, but don’t hold their shape well when cooked, so I’d recommend finding one that stays relatively firm and is rather tart.

Because apples vary and depend so much on where people live, I suggest asking the grower or vendor which apples have those qualities, listed above.

Your photos alone are enough to make me want to replicate the desserts on your posts. Also, I’ve read a lot about Maria Helm Sinskey over the years. She sounds, as does their winery in N. CA., interesting. I’ll have to check out her book.

It’s quite a shame the sequence of missteps that were allowed to happen at the restaurant. I hesitate myself with writing negative reviews, but this appears to be a particularly bad case. To put it mildly, it’s inappropriate for any host to be projecting insult onto guests who are perfectly innocent in expecting a normal and predictable experience. And despite the fact that you had the service portion out of your control, it’s an integrated experience, and I’m sure that you felt discomfort with introducing your guest to a somewhat disappointing experience. You’ve done us all a favor, your recommendation carries weight and they need know the repercussions of allowing such poor behavior to persist. Kudos.

Christine: Since we both worked in restaurants, we were able to shrug it off. But I do feel sorry for the kitchen and the chef, who is producing such great food. However when there are major glitches and that kind of behavior is allowed to infiltrate the dining room, working in quite a few restaurants myself, the problem may be systemic and perhaps indicative of something else going on.

I am very thankful that service like this tends to be rare, but when it happens is just such a disappointment. Your cake on the other hand looks anything but disappointing. I am definitely making this one.

The recipe sounds great!
When reading it, I was thinking: what about a dash of Calvados in the skillet while cooking the apples? In my experience une larme de calva always makes the apples “sing” louder in a dish…

There is something just so cozy about apples and dates this time of year. I love this type of cake; gently spiced, no frosting some fruit and nuts added. It’s a perfect pick-me-up with a cup of coffee at any time of day. I like that you added dates to this, I love the flavor and moisture they add to cakes and breads. I made a date pecan pie this year for Thanksgiving..it was the perfect flavor combo and gave some much needed flavor and body to the usual sugar custard bedding for the pecans.

What an unfortunate restaurant experience! Don’t they know who you ARE? I wonder, if you gave them the present of one of your books, if you would get better service – but maybe it’s not worth the trouble! You could just send them the link to your blog!

My last trip to France, I found very few waiters that were nice to be honest (the nicest was in a Moroccan restaurant on the Rive Gauche, but then he was flirting with me :) With a friend, we had miscalculated one day and came back to this small village in Provence where we were staying with very little money on us, but still wanted to try the good restaurant next door. So we pooled our francs, trying to act cool, then fearfully asked the waitress if everything was REALLY included in the menu price. She said, yes but of course (please insert uppity French accent here), even ze tableware… Good food, badly digested in the end.

A gentle note to reader Karen: What difference would it make to the rest of the world if our David DID do as you suggested? The problem that David is suggesting is that EVERYONE who goes to this restaurant seems to be treated this badly. Trumpeting what a big shot he is would offer no solution.

Elanor: I did think of that. But for home cooks, I always have to caution them that adding a shot of 40 proof liquor to a hot pan can easily cause a flame-up. So if folks do try that, it’s vital to be aware that this will likely happen.

Steve and Karen: I think that all diners should get the same experience, or at least be treated well. (Provided they’re behaving!) So while some shops and restaurants know me, I don’t think that should matter much and I keep that in mind when writing up restaurants for the site. I’m certain there are regulars at La Repaire de Cartouche who have good experiences, but after reading multiple complaints from a variety of sources, my experience seemed to be far from an isolated incident.

Lynne: I’ve experienced little truly bad service in Paris. Unlike other places where servers are often students or artists (not to say either can’t make good waiters…), in France, servers choose that as a career and do it professionally rather than as a sideline. Places that are heavily-touristed, however, can be more challenging as the servers have to deal with people in a language they may not speak well, and adapt to other customs. (Like folks asking for doggy bags and milk for their after-dinner coffee.) My challenge in those situations is to always try to make them laugh, even if that means poking fun at myself. That often makes the situation turn around.

So not to excuse any lousy experience you’ve had, but just to explain it a bit. And as for your good experience with the Moroccan waiter—you go girl! : )

I love this recipe David and will make it this weekend for sure! The best part is that the kids and I can eat lots of batter (because I only have a 10 cup bundt pan) which we love more than the baked goods.

Sorry you had such a bad experience at the restaurant.
Maybe right name of restaurant but wrong address. Were you supposed to go to
8,Boulevard des Filles du Calvaine in the 11th?

Keep writing.

Ian

Hi Ian: It’s the same restaurant. There are actually two entrances; the one you mentioned and main one where customers enter, which is on the rue Amelot. (I don’t think they use the door on the boulevard, just the one on rue Amelot.) -dl

There are delicious apples in the stores right now – I just loaded up on them yesterday. This cake looks just right for so many occasions. I am looking forward to making it. I assume that Granny Smith apples would be just right, yes?
Thank you for the recipe and for the links. Next stop is Sinskey Vineyard Kitchens.

I am born and bred Francophile – my passion for France, its history, culture, literature, arts in general and gastronomy (amongst many others) is both boudless and totally emotional. I am helplessly and hopelessly tied to the fairest country of all. I am not blind, though. I recognize the arrogant way most waiters insist in treating the customers to the extent that sometimes they seem literally invisible – to them only. Having said that, I have a serious flaw. Although the French cuisine is world famous for its quality, presentation and taste (!) I am allergic to everything and anything even remotely connected to butter. Since my days as an infant, when presented with any dish prepared with butter I would perspire, swoon and vomit (sorry) without end. I am forced to ask each waiter as to every ingredient used in my dish of choice. How embarassing. Would you be so kind as to offer us all a few recipes in which butter can be replaced for olive oil or cornflower oil or even natural yoghurt as well as a couple of restaurants (in Paris, obviously) in which this ingredient can be exchanged without a furrow of the brow ? Thank you so much for your attention. By the way, your site makes my day – always. I am addicted to it.

David I am thrilled with this recipe. I just splurged and ordered myself the 90th Anniversary Kitchen Aid Candy Apple Red stand up mixer AND a gorgeous chrysanthemum Nordic Ware pan! This will be my first cake with the new tools! Thanks.

Beautiful, but do you (or any readers) have any tips on how to unmold a bundt pan so that the cake is presentable? There are one or two recipies that have actually worked for me for the unmolding and all others stick to the pan! Sometimes i think buttering and flouring make things worse by creating a rough surface when the cake comes out. Mine certainly never looks as smooth and lovely as yours, David!

Hi Molly: I use a non-stick pan and never had a problem with the cake coming out. Butter is good-tasting but non-stick spray works really well and gets in all those crevices of intricate bundt pans. You might want to try Baker’s Joy, which is a non-stick spray with flour in it, formulated for cake pans, works quite well. It’s available in well-stocked supermarkets.

That last photo is my favorite. I just started my blog, and I’ve become a little obsessed with taking photos of the “aftermath” of a meal, a recipe, etc. There is something satisfying about seeing an empty plate with the last few bits of whatever you’ve just eaten/baked/cooked, isn’t there?

Too bad about the dinner. No matter how wonderful the food is, poor service can ruin the enjoyment of an otherwise great meal. Based on my own experience with kids (well, at least my kids… most of the time), maybe what you really want to avoid are waiters who are “purposefully disagreeable and act like spoiled children.” ;) If my 8 year-old son was serving you, you’d have had a lovely meal.

p.s. – thanks for being so generous with your tips for food bloggers, both on this site and at the Food Blog Alliance. So very helpful, and much appreciated! xo, Dawn

I have a very generous apple tree in the backyard and have been looking for ways to use up the sweet tart apples. I think they are Pippins, but not sure. So, besides apple butter, apple tarts, and apple sauce, I recently made the apple spice cake from Joy of Cooking. They recommended a caramel frosting, but I had just made Dulce de Leche using your recipe and I used that on the cake. It made my tummy and my boyfriend’s tummy very happy! Now I want to try this recipe. I think a layer cake with D de L between the layers and on top could be a great combo!

I made the cake last night – WOW! I’m eating a slice for breakfast right now. Still warm, out of the oven last night… over the top! Delicious. Thank you for posting the recipe. I had all the ingredients in the kitchen except dates, so substituted the dried apricots. Apples on hand were a couple of large Granny Smiths and 1 large Fuji. My ancient bundt pan (over 30 years old) and Baker’s Joy seem to get along just fine.

Thanks for your blog and tweets. Keeps me connected to a country that I love (quirks, frustrations, and all) and don’t get to vist often enough. Reading “The Sweet Life in Paris” was great fun. Hope there’s a sequel in the works!

Lovely looking cake. As for extracting the cake from the bundt pan, when I do have occasional trouble (usually due to not greasing the pan thoroughly or letting the cake sit too long before turning it out) I cut heavy paper or very thin cardboard (the box that American butter is packaged in works well) into strips and carefully slip it down the side of the pan until it curves under the cake, then wiggle it around a bit. You may go through a few strips of paper (they soften pretty quickly) but this usually works to get into the hard to reach spots. If that fails, there’s always an opaque glaze!

Thanks Annie. Another trick it to reward the cake pan (this cake is taken out while the cake is still warm) but for other recipes, if you set the cake pan directly on a burner, very briefly, often that will do the trick as well.

David,
This looks wonderful – especially no one is eating the apples straight from the bowl!
Your comments about the bundt pan made me (unfortunately) remember my thanksgiving ginger cake disaster. A new recipe, and one of those where the perimeter cooks but the center stays semi-liquid. so you tent foil over the edges, hoping but…you end up with a hard crusty edge and a mush center.

why of why does this happen? how can one know by reading a recipe not to do it? and is there any way to correct it mid-bake when you see that you are cursed?

I’ve been to that restaurant, a few years back. I don’t recall bad service, but of course it depends on the day,time, person, situation. I hate when I hear about bad service at a good restaurant, it isn’t worth the euros even if the food is great.

Baked this cake over the weekend and it’s simply terrific. I followed all the instructions but added 1/4 cup of sour cream to the yogurt as the batter was rather stiff. My apples were Braeburn but I think just about any variety will work. The result is moist, fragrant and positively addictive at any time of the day. This makes a substantial cake so definitely use the 12 cup bundt to avoid overflows. Thank you, David!

I´m a little late in adding my comments (was travelling and am now catching up on your latest entries). The photos are gorgeous and I can´t wait to make this cake. As to the restaurant, unfortunately there seems to be a pattern of unhappy customers at Le Repaire lately. There were similar comments about extremely rude waiters on Chowhound.com not too long ago. It´s a shame…

You can never have enough apple cake recipes and I have a waning reserve of apples to celebrate in a recipe worthy of their flavor, as is this one. I really like Bramleys and Belle de Boskoop and am glad to see you have some russetted apples in your apple bowl. Russet apples are great because I feel they are easier to grow organically. They’re less then sexy brown skin keeps the bugs away, but not the connoisseurs.

David, I am tardy for the party again, but just wanted to say this is really delicious. I added a bit of ground cardamom to mine because I’m obsessed, but other than that I followed your lead. Thanks so much for posting this!

I made it with kefir and used one cup of mixed dried dates, sultanas, goji berry and walnut. I didn’t have enough apples, so I added one big banana to the apples. It came out great! I’ll do it again with the original recipe soon. This is the best cake ever!

I baked this in two loaf tins, each about 4 X 8 inches. I thought 1 tbsp of baking powder must be a typo, but I guess not because the cakes rose quite beautifully. I used four red apples that were getting old that were probably not crisp and quite sweet. The cake has a lovely golden crumb and is very light. Pleasantly sweet. A very nice cake to have with tea I think.Thank you for the recipe.

I just made this recipe and was very pleased! I wasn’t the only one either.
Decided to make 2 six-cup cakes. Also, added about 2 tsp. of dark amber maple syrup to the apples and because I was lacking some spices I improvised by adding more cinnamon and using cardamom and cloves. It was really divine! Thank you!